bank

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈbaŋk 

1

: a mound, pile, or ridge raised above the surrounding level: such as

a

: a piled-up mass of cloud or fog

a fog bank

a bank of dark clouds

b

: an undersea elevation rising especially from the continental shelf

2

: the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea or forming the edge of a cut or hollow

We lived along the banks of the Mississippi River.

3

a

: a steep slope (as of a hill)

climbed a steep bank up to the cabin

b

: the lateral inward tilt of a surface along a curve

The engineers hadn't given the road enough bank.

: the lateral inward tilt of a vehicle (such as an airplane) when turning

The bomber crossed the target area in a sharp bank.

4

: a protective or cushioning rim or piece

bank

2 of 5

verb (1)

banked; banking; banks

transitive verb

1

a

: to build a raised border of earth around : to raise a bank (see bank entry 1 sense 2) about

bank a fishpond

b

: to restrict the flow of air to (a fire) especially by piling ash around or over the burning embers

They banked the campfire at midnight so it could be easily revived in the morning.

c

: to build (a curve) with the roadbed or track inclined laterally upward from the inside edge

2

: to heap or pile in a bank

banking sand up along a river to prevent flooding

3

a

billiards : to drive (a ball) into a cushion

b

sports : to bounce (a ball or shot) off a surface (such as a backboard) into or toward a goal

bank in a rebound

4

: to form or group in a tier

intransitive verb

1

: to rise in or form a bank

—often used with up

clouds would bank up about midday, and showers fall

—William Beebe

2

a

: to incline an airplane laterally

The pilot banked right.

b(1)

: to incline laterally

torpedo planes … darting in to attack, then banking off

—K. M. Dodson

(2)

: to follow a curve or incline

skiers banking around the turn

bank

3 of 5

noun (2)

1

a

: an establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money, for the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds

paychecks automatically deposited into the bank

went to the bank to make a withdrawal

open a bank account

b

obsolete : the table, counter, or place of business of a money changer

2

: a person conducting a gambling house or game

specifically : dealer

3

: a supply of something held in reserve: such as

a

in games : the fund of supplies (such as money, chips, or pieces) held by the banker (see banker entry 1 sense 2) or dealer

b

in games : a fund of pieces (such as dominoes) from which the players draw

select another domino from the bank

4

: a place where something is held available

memory banks

especially : a depot for the collection and storage of a biological product

a blood bank

bank

4 of 5

verb (2)

banked; banking; banks

intransitive verb

1

: to manage a bank

2

: to deposit money or have an account in a bank (see bank entry 3 sense 1a)

choosing where to bank

transitive verb

: to deposit or store in a bank

bank a check

Whole blood … could be banked indefinitely …

—Time

bank

5 of 5

noun (3)

1

: a group or series of objects arranged together in a row or a tier

a bank of vending machines

: such as

a

: a set of elevators

b

: a row or tier of telephones

worked at a phone bank calling potential donors

2

journalism : one of the horizontal and usually secondary or lower divisions of a headline

reading the bank of the headline

Phrases

bank on

: to depend or rely on

can always bank on her friendship

Did you know?

The literal meaning of Italian banca was “bench,” but the word was also used for the benchlike counter at which an early money changer transacted business, and later to describe the money changer’s shop itself—the bank. When the banking trade spread from Italy to France, and then to England, the Italian word went with it and became our English bank.

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• bar
• drift
• mound

Verb (1)

• hill
• mound

Noun (3)

• array
• assemblage
• band
• batch
• battery
• block
• bunch
• clot
• clump
• cluster
• clutch
• collection
• constellation
• group
• grouping
• huddle
• knot
• lot
• muster
• package
• parcel
• passel
• set
• suite

Examples of bank in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The German bank lifts its stock rating to buy from hold, while cutting the price target to 3,000 pence from 3,100 pence. —WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023

The bank recently projected that economic growth would flatline through 2024 and into 2025. —Eshe Nelson, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023

Wells Fargo employees at two of the bank’s branches filed for union elections on Monday, laying the groundwork for potential unionization in an industry that has largely been immune to such labor campaigns. —Niket Nishant, Fortune, 20 Nov. 2023

Prosecutors demand Brazil's oldest bank pay reparations for slavery More than a year later now, Izaque was preparing to go to school. —Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2023

As trade expanded, banks were established and currency production surged, medieval Europe experienced a major transformation: Suddenly, money was everywhere in daily life. —Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2023

Hamilton was accused of giving Ashley’s victim an unknown illicit substance outside the bar and using the victim’s phone to steal $2,000 from his bank accounts. —Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 20 Nov. 2023

More than $40,000 from his campaign’s bank account was found to have not been reported to the Federal Election Commision and used for personal expenses. —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 19 Nov. 2023

Just ask Bangladesh’s National Telecommunication Monitoring Center, which security researchers found connected to a leaky database that exposed everything from names and email addresses to cell phone numbers and bank account details. —WIRED, 18 Nov. 2023

Verb

So Apple is banking on the software to sell people on the new models. —Ewan Spence, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

Democrats are banking on a comeback to help retake the House. —Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023

He’s already banked $5 million in pre-seed round of funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners. —Jasmine Browley, Essence, 25 Oct. 2023

Manchin also still had a large campaign war chest, banking away $11.3 million. —Joe Murphy, NBC News, 16 Oct. 2023

While similar attempts to expand paid sick leave have stalled in the past, politically powerful unions are banking on workplace lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to be enough to get Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the bill this time around, Mackenzie Mays reported. —David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023

Nintendo is banking on having more people come in contact with its intellectual property through official stores, including pop-ups, theme parks and special events, and now movies. —Yuri Kageyama, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023

On top of acquiring and producing local stories, Netflix still finds great success with its international library titles in the region and has sought to bank on the familiarity of U.S. formats when designing its regional content. —Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 13 Oct. 2023

That’s why the real story of the night was the performance from Sheehan — one of several young pitchers the Dodgers are banking on to deliver in the playoffs, hopeful their lack of experience can be overcome by youthful confidence and quality of stuff. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb (1)

Middle English, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse bakki bank; akin to Old English benc bench — more at bench

Noun (2) and Verb (2)

Middle English, from Middle French or Old Italian; Middle French banque, from Old Italian banca, literally, bench, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English benc

Noun (3)

Middle English banc bench, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English benc

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

1738, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (3)

1771, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing bank

• bottle bank
• merchant bank
• sperm bank
• bank money
• inter-bank
• bank machine
• bank holiday
• bank discount
• commercial bank
• Federal Reserve bank
• bank card
• bank draft
• eye bank
• memory bank
• bank loan
• central bank
• bank shot
• land bank
• break the bank
• clearing bank
• national bank
• piggy bank
• blood bank
• state bank
• bank rate
• savings bank
• food bank
• data bank
• reserve bank
• run on the bank
• laugh all the way to the bank
• bank on
• left-bank

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• bottle bank
• merchant bank
• sperm bank
• bank money
• inter-bank
• bank machine
• bank holiday
• bank discount
• commercial bank
• Federal Reserve bank
• bank card
• bank draft
• eye bank
• memory bank
• bank loan
• central bank
• bank shot
• land bank
• break the bank
• clearing bank
• national bank
• piggy bank
• blood bank
• state bank
• bank rate
• savings bank
• food bank
• data bank
• reserve bank
• run on the bank
• laugh all the way to the bank
• bank on
• left-bank

See More

Kids Definition

bank

1 of 5 noun

ˈbaŋk 

1

: a mound, pile, or ridge of earth

2

: a piled-up mass of cloud or fog

3

: a rise in the sea bottom

4

: the rising ground at the edge of a lake, river, or sea

5

: a steep slope (as of a hill)

6

: the inward tilt of a surface along a curve or of a vehicle (as an airplane) when turning

bank

2 of 5 verb

1

: to raise a bank around

2

: to cover (as a fire) with fresh fuel to reduce the speed of burning

3

: to build with the foundation of a road or railroad sloping upward from the inside edge

bank a curve

4

: to heap or pile in a bank

5

: to rise in or form a bank

6

: to tilt an airplane sideways when turning

bank

3 of 5 noun

1

: a place of business that lends, exchanges, takes care of, or issues money

2

: a small closed container in which money may be saved

3

: a storage place (as for a reserve supply)

a blood bank

bank

4 of 5 verb

1

: to have an account in a bank

2

: to deposit or store in a bank

banks $10 every week

bank

5 of 5 noun

: a group or series of objects arranged close together in a row

a bank of seats

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bank "piled up mass"; probably of Scandinavian origin

Noun

Middle English bank "table or counter of a money changer," from early French banque (same meaning) or early Italian banca, literally, "bench"; of Germanic origin

Noun

Middle English bank "bench for rowers," from early French banc "bench"; of Germanic origin

Medical Definition

bank

noun

ˈbaŋk 

: a place where something is held available

data bank

especially : a depot for the collection and storage of a biological product of human origin for medical use

a sperm bank

an eye bank

see blood bank

Legal Definition

bank

noun

ˈbaŋk 

: an organization for the custody, loan, or exchange of money, for the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds

— branch bank

: a banking facility that is a separate but dependent part of a chartered bank

especially : a facility that performs some banking functions and is separate from a main office

— bridge bank

: a national bank that is chartered for a limited time to operate an insolvent bank until it is sold

— central bank

: a national bank that establishes monetary and fiscal policy and controls the money supply and interest rate

— collecting bank

: a bank other than the payor bank that is handling for collection a negotiable instrument or a promise or order to pay money

— commercial bank

: a bank organized chiefly to handle the everyday financial transactions of businesses (as through deposit accounts and commercial loans)

— cooperative bank

: an association (as a credit union) owned by and offering banking services for its members

specifically : savings and loan association

— depositary bank

: the first bank to take a negotiable instrument or promise or order to pay money unless the instrument, promise, or order is presented for immediate payment over the counter

— federal land bank

: a land bank that is under federal charter and regulated by the Farm Credit Administration

— Federal Reserve bank

: one of 12 central banks set up under the Federal Reserve Act to hold reserves for and extend credit to affiliated banks in their respective districts

— intermediary bank

: a bank other than the depositary or payor bank to which a negotiable instrument or promise or order to pay is transferred in the course of collection

— land bank

: a bank that provides financing for land development and farm mortgages especially by issuing stock see also federal land bank in this entry

: a trust that holds land for purposes of preservation or conservation

— national bank

: a bank operating under federal charter and supervision

— nonbank bank

: a financial organization (as a branch of an out-of-state bank) that either accepts demand deposits or makes commercial loans

— payor bank

: a bank that is the drawee of a draft

— presenting bank

: a bank other than a payor bank that presents a negotiable instrument or promise or order to pay money

— savings bank

: a bank organized to hold depositors' funds in interest-bearing accounts and to make long-term investments (as in home mortgage loans)

— state bank

: a bank operating under state charter and law

banker

ˈbaŋ-kər 

noun